Southern California real estate bosses add 5,600 workers in May

SoCal real estate employment from EDD (Chart by Flourish)

Real estate hiring heated up in May across Southern California, with staff additions running 39% faster than the seasonal norm.

My trusty spreadsheet found the combined property-linked employment in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties was 837,800 in May – up 5,600 for the month.

To put the month’s staffing into perspective, note that in pre-pandemic 2015-19, 4,040 jobs were added in May on average. Note that many people who work in the real estate world are self-employed and are not tracked by traditional government job counts.

Yet the longer-term trends still seem sluggish. Looking back to May 2023, real estate work grew locally by 5,900 positions in a year – a 0.7% increase – versus a 12-month hiring pace averaging 14,300 since the Great Recession. That’s 59% less.

These hiring gyrations leave the property industry’s local job count 13,000 below its post-2009 employment peak. That pinnacle was reached in July 2022 – shortly after the Federal Reserve began cooling the economy with higher interest rates.

Rising financing costs tend to hit real estate hard. But the Fed’s inflation-fighting efforts have been frustrated by a job market that continues to show modest strength.

Think about other industries across Southern California. Those bosses had 7.15 million workers in May – up 14,200 jobs in a month. Over 12 months, non-real estate jobs are up 57,200 over 12 months, or a 0.8% gain.

And don’t overlook real estate’s job-market clout, with its share of local employment at 10.5% in May 2024. The industry’s hiring equaled 28% of all new local jobs for the month, 9.4% for the year, and 11.7% since 2010 and the end of the Great Recession.

By the slice

Who’s hiring? Here’s a look at key real estate-related employment niches in Southern California for May …

Trade construction specialists: 251,600 employed by contractors – up 2,300 for the month and up 2,000 over 12 months, or a 0.8% gain. Average May had 2,120 job increase. It’s 6,700 below post-Great Recession high (October 2023).

Building, civil, construction: 121,500 workers in various trades – up 600 for the month and up 600 over 12 months, or a 0.5% gain. Average is 540 job increase. It’s 2,000 below post-Great Recession high (October 2023).

Lending: 88,300 folks in various slices of credit work – up 100 for the month and off 2,800 over 12 months, or a 3.1% drop. Average is 100 job increase. It’s 36,600 below post-Great Recession high (December 2012).

Real estate services: 138,700 people handling transactions – up 500 for the month and up 500 over 12 months, or a 0.4% gain. Average is 640 job increase. It’s 4,700 below post-Great Recession high (December 2022).

Building supplies: 126,600 sellers of equipment and materials – up 800 for the month and up 2,100 over 12 months, or a 1.7% gain. Average aince 2010 and the end of the Great Recession. had 400 job increase. It’s 300 below post-Great Recession high (December 2023).

Building services: 111,100 jobs in commercial property operations – post Great-Recession high – up 1,300 for the month and up 3,500 over 12 months, or a 3.3% gain. Average had 240 job increase.

Geographically speaking

And here is real estate’s employment’s breakdown by metro area …

Los Angeles County: 439,900 real estate jobs – up 2,900 for the month and up 2,000 over 12 months, or a 0.5% one-year gain. An average May in 2015-19 had 1,400 hires. Jobs are 6,400 below post-Great Recession high (November 2019). Real estate equals 9.6% of all LA jobs.

Orange County: 216,100 real estate jobs – up 1,900 for the month and up 2,700 over 12 months, or a 1.27% one-year gain. An average May in 2015-19 had 1,200 hires. Jobs are 14,300 below post-Great Recession high (August 2018). Real estate equals 12.7% of all OC jobs.

Inland Empire: 181,800 real estate jobs – up 800 for the month and up 1,200 over 12 months, or a 0.7% one-year gain. An average May in 2015-19 had 900 hires. Jobs are 4,300 below post-Great Recession high (October 2023). Real estate equals 10.7% of all IE jobs.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com